It has been a busy day in terms of news, so let us catch you up on the latest and greatest.

Today’s Agenda:

• Market Watch
• Highlights of the Day
  • Analysts Expect Consolidation in the Short Term
  • Kraken Expands Margin Trading to Include New Crypto Assets
  • PayPal Partners with MoonPay 
• Project of the Day
• Crypto Corner
• Market Sentiment & Predictions
• Business & Political Insights 

Market Watch

Top Gainers

• Arweave ($AR): +22.7%
• Bonk ($BONK): +12.8%
• Wormhole ($W): +11.8%

Top Losers

• Zebec Protocol ($ZBC): -2.8%
• Tokenize Xchange ($TKX): -2.2%
• WhiteBIT Coin ($WBT): -1.1%

Trending Crypto Sectors/Categories

• Real World Assets (RWA)
• Lending/ Borrowing
• Cross-Chain Communications

Total Crypto Market Cap – 2.319 Trillion

Fear and Greed Index – 48

Top NFT Sale

• CryptoPunks #7846 Sold for 187 ETH 

Highlights of the Day

Analysts Expect Consolidation in the Short Term

In the aftermath of the recent Bitcoin halving event, analysts from cryptocurrency exchange Bitfinex predict a period of consolidation for Bitcoin, lasting one to two months. This phase is characterized by price fluctuations within a range of approximately $10,000, according to the latest Bitfinex Alpha market report.

Shift Toward Altcoins

During this consolidation, a change in market dynamics is becoming evident. Bitcoin’s dominance, which represents its share of the total cryptocurrency market, appears to be waning. Michaël van de Poppe, founder of MNTrading, along with other cryptocurrency traders, suggest that liquidity is beginning to flow toward altcoins. This observation aligns with the Bitfinex report, which points to a decrease in Bitcoin’s market dominance and historical trends of increased interest in altcoins following the halving event.

Kraken Expands Margin Trading to Include New Crypto Assets

Cryptocurrency exchange Kraken has expanded its margin trading offerings to include several new crypto assets. The offerings include Internet Computer (ICP), Pepe (PEPE), Shiba Inu (SHIB), and DogWifHat (WIF). The newly supported margin pairs provide varying levels of leverage, with ICP/USD offering 3x leverage, PEPE/USD 6x, SHIB/USD 15x, and WIF/USD 14x.

What You Should Know About Margin Trading

While margin trading can amplify profits, it is essential to understand the added risks and costs involved. Some things to consider:

• Collateral Requirements
• Eligibility Criteria
• Fees

Given the higher risks associated with margin trading, it’s crucial to exercise caution and understand the terms and conditions of these new margin pairs on Kraken. 

PayPal Partners with MoonPay 

MoonPay, a leading cryptocurrency payments provider, has announced a new integration with PayPal, making it easier for users in the United States to buy and sell crypto. This integration allows MoonPay users to access over 110 different cryptocurrencies directly through their PayPal accounts, streamlining the process of purchasing digital assets.

Benefits of the Integration

With this new integration, MoonPay and PayPal are paving the way for a more accessible and convenient crypto-buying experience, helping users avoid common payment issues while streamlining their journey into the world of cryptocurrency.

Project of the Day

Ondo

Ondo ($ONDO) is emerging as a leading blockchain platform focused on offering institutional-grade finance on-chain. The platform is designed to build a new generation of financial infrastructure, enhancing market efficiency, transparency, and accessibility. A significant aspect of Ondo’s approach is the creation of risk-isolated, fixed-yield loans backed by yield-generating crypto assets. The platform’s native token, $ONDO, serves as the governance token for the ONDO DAO, which oversees Flux Finance.

In terms of price movements, the $ONDO token has a market cap of $1.1 billion and a price around $0.8. Its performance over the past 12 months has been impressive, with gains exceeding 400%, drawing considerable attention from investors and analysts. Key support and resistance levels for $ONDO are identified at $0.47/$0.48 and $1, respectively. This suggests that in the short term, price volatility is likely to occur within this range. However, despite potential fluctuations, the long-term outlook for $ONDO remains bullish.

Crazy Day in Crypto

• The Solana-based meme coin $POPCAT reached a market capitalization exceeding $600 million amid Solana’s recent surge.
• The $MOCA public sale attracted $29.3 million in pre-deposits from 17,000 unique KYC-ed users, exceeding the subscription limit by over 12 times.
• LayerZero has officially confirmed the first snapshot of its long-awaited $ZRO airdrop, marking a significant step toward distributing the $ZRO token.
• Solana saw a significant uptick, with its market value climbing over 10% in the past 24 hours to hit $136.60, following earlier declines caused by concerns over the Federal Reserve potentially slowing interest rate cuts.

Market Sentiment & Predictions

• BlackRock anticipates that major wealth funds will start purchasing Spot Bitcoin ETFs in the upcoming months.
• Franklin Templeton, with $1.46 trillion in assets under management, recognizes that $WIF and $BONK are the main focus of the memecoin market.

Business Talks & Political Insights

• Coinbase revealed its Q1 revenue figures, posting $1.64 billion, which significantly exceeded market expectations of $1.34 billion.
• BNP Paribas, a major European bank, made its first foray into Bitcoin by investing approximately $41,684 in BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT), acquiring 1,030 units, a relatively small sum for the bank’s sizable portfolio.
• New York authorities arrested Idin Dalpour for allegedly orchestrating a $43 million Ponzi scheme that deceived investors with fraudulent opportunities in a Las Vegas hospitality project and a cryptocurrency trading operation.

Jack Dorsey’s ‘Block’ plans to allocate 10% of its monthly gross profits to purchase Bitcoin.